As in the case of many musical instruments, acoustic guitars and many other of the larger stringed instruments present major problems with respect to their storage and transportation. Although many of the musical instruments can be easily taken apart and stored in a relatively small case for ease of carrying or handling, the same has not been true of the larger stringed instruments, such as, the acoustic guitar which includes a relatively large sound chamber to enhance the sound or tonal characteristics of the instrument.
It has been proposed in the past to design guitars so as to be collapsible or of reduced size for greater ease of carrying or transportation as well as to be able to store in a compact condition particularly for those living in confined living areas. One approach has been to construct the guitar with a foldable neck or fingerboard portion, a representative approach being that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,211 to A. C. Jorgensen which utilizes a hinged arrangement with a shaped recess on the back of the instrument to receive the neck in the collapsed position. In Jorgensen, the bridge also can be detached for storage purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,093 to R. Field et al employs a somewhat complex system of gears and rollers so that the tension on the strings can be relaxed in order to permit the neck to be folded and employs a spring-loaded pin for the purpose of locking the neck in an extended position when the instrument is to be played.
To the best of my knowledge, however, no one has devised an acoustic guitar which combines the ability to fold or hinge the neck portion over the top of the instrument body with an expansible sound chamber whereby to substantially reduce both the length and width of the instrument. U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,151 to L. Copeland broadly suggests an expansible stringed instrument in which the neck can be pivoted into a position resting against the rear wall of the main body of the instrument in combination with hinged frame and brace members on opposite sides of the body which can be collapsed inwardly against the main body when not in use. However, Copeland is specifically directed for guitars other than those of the acoustical variety; i.e., those containing or having a sound chamber. Again, however, it is desirable to so construct and design an acoustic guitar and other stringed instruments containing a sound chamber in such a way as to permit substantial reduction in length and width of the instrument when not in use so as to make it easy to store or carry and to do so in such a way as to require a minimum of additional parts and without detracting from the tonal qualities of the instrument.
Other representative patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,396,621 to B. G. Dycus; 3,657,462 to G. D. Robinson and 4,112,804 to J. Cecchini.